Tastes of Remnant
by ProbablyHeretical
Summary: "You are dead. This is hell." As foreboding as that is, he just wanted to get out of the forest. Contemplating mysterious notes can wait for a bit.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yo, quick warning, I'm completely new to writing. This account was set up a while ago and I've actively strived to ignore anything that involved publishing. I've also been avoiding reading any Tokyo Ghoul fanfics purely out of fear that it's all going to be super angsty. I'm gonna check it out now that I've thrown this under the spotlight, but I'm still anxious about it. Still, I've enjoy what I've read of RWBY fanfiction so this should at least be comforting.**

**Now, as this is a first story, I'm not expecting much. It's been in my head for a while lately but I'm not sure how others will react. Then again, the main point of this account was to practice writing in general.**

**I'm not gonna keep you longer than necessary, but I have to get this out of the way first. Just once because these thing are annoying:**

**RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth Production and was created by the late Monty Oum (Rest In Peace)**

**The Tokyo Ghoul Manga was written by Sui Ishida and published by Shueisha and Viz Media**

**I own nothing but this story.**

* * *

There were a _lot_ of Grimm.

Emerald found the sheer amount of Grimm mildly disturbing. It didn't help that they were all Beowolves, and that there was literally _one other person who was apparently __homeless,__ unarmed an insane_.

"Sorera wa nanidesu ka?"

So she may have decided to sneak out without telling Cinder. But why should she need to? She hadn't hurt her, or anyone else. Cinder hadn't specifically said not to. And Mercury went out as well! _What_ he went out to do she didn't really want imagine. Whatever it was, a walk in the forest would be much more wholesome. Why there were Grimm in the forest, she had no clue. There had been no earlier sightings, and considering the close proximity to the city, any pack should have been destroyed by hunters stationed long before they got this close. Yet a pack as large as this got through somehow.

"Karera wa monsutāte imasu ka?"

"Would you shut up! There's lots of dangerous monsters around us, and I can't concentrate while you speak in some made up language!" He was two, maybe three years older than her. All he wore was a dirty black t-shirt and some dirty white shorts. He didn't even have shoes. That fact did, however, reveal that the nails on his toe were as black as those on his fingers. And it wasn't paint. It appeared to be just the natural colour. That, and his white hair similar to that of an old man, seemed to be due to high amounts of stress. The only thing he had on him besides his clothes was some small leather satchel.

"Shitsureina koto suru hitsuyō wa arimasen." Maybe he was messing with her. Why you would mess with a huntress with a bunch of Grimm surrounding the area? Emerald would have left him to deal with them himself. Then again, that's probably why she wasn't a huntress.

"Look, could you please just stop talking and let me take care of-" suddenly, a large Beowolf, most likely the leader, charged at them from the front, snarling. The thief readied herself to retaliate, maybe clear a path to get to the safety of the city.

As the Beowolf neared, the babbling dude started _walking __nonchalantly__ towards it. _"Wait! What are you doing!? Get behind me, moron!" Maybe he was suicidal. It made sense with lots of stress and all. Maybe he was incredibly depressed and had just found the perfect opportunity to kill himself. And frankly, Emerald didn't need to see someone mauled to death as of right. But he was already to close to the Beowolf to stop any kind of long term damage. Well the least she could do then was save-

The man's left arm suddenly shot forward. Aimed at the Grimm who had leapt at him. Within a split-second, he had knocked it's head cleanly off, sending it flying and bouncing of a tree while it's body flopped to the ground. The man crouched down over the headless corpse, his front obscured, He held onto one of it's shoulders and ripped it off with his free hand. He then brought the severed limb to eye level.

A distinct sound could be heard. It was the sound of something being bitten off savagely.

The man spat chewed up Grimm to the side, his face a grimace, making gagging noises.

Emerald really didn't know what was more bizarre. The fact he punched a Grimm's head off, or the fact that he tried to eat it's corpse.

"...What the fuck?"

"Watashi wa dochira ka korera no koto o taberu koto ga dekinai to omoimasu." The man said something else in his gibberish. It didn't really matter what he said. It wouldn't remove the insanity of the situation. "Mā, watashi wa-" Five more Grimm charged him from the left and right flanks. Completely ignoring the thief in an attempt to neutralize the bigger threat. Picking up what was left of the husk before him, he threw it at the two coming from the left. The force the corpse hit them at caused the ever audible sound of bone breaking. The other three were virtually upon him. He stiffened his right palm and cut through them like they were air. He took a moment to examine his hand, which appeared to only be somewhat bruised. The pack began retreating. She couldn't believe her eyes

"watashi wa tonikaku kūfukude wa nai nda."

He turned towards her. She backed away slowly, slipping accidentally and landing in the dirt. She quickly scrambled backward until the back of her head hit a tree.

His approach was slow, casual. It only took him about ten seconds to reach her. He crouched down to her eye level. His face seemed soft. The damage he was capable of made her weary of it.

"Anata no namae wa nan des ka?" It sounded like a question. It always did when that 'ka' sound at the end. The actual question was a mystery to her though. The man pointed a finger at his chest. "Kaneki. Boku wa Ken Kaneki des." That must have been his name. It made sense. In a strange way, it sounded like one.

He was asking her name.

"Emerald. Emerald Sustrai." She said nervously. He smiled warmly at her.

"Hajimemashite." His smile was very...comforting somehow. "Emerald-San."

* * *

**A/N: Well this is actually a thing now. I can really only see things going bad. But hey, I'm pretty self critical when it comes to writing,**

**I've written quite a lot more than this. Mostly due to lack of internet connection for unimportant reasons. This is really one of the shorter chapters, most will double this. I'll upload weekly (not at a specific time, just on whatever day this ends up getting uploaded on) if I don't start procrastinating.**

**If you'd like to point anything out, or have any form of criticism (constructive or not) please leave a review.**

**See you next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Now I'm going to try pushing my luck here, and experiment with a something I don't exactly care for. I'm just glad it's for this and the next chapter. Nevertheless, enjoy.**

_Chapter 2: Tastes like Criminal_

Emerald didn't understand 'Ken'.

It wasn't even his language, which she's managed to understand as slightly more than babbling thanks to some helpful signing. it was the way he acted, the fact that he was eating coffee beans head had found in his satchel, and the nervousness that faunus passer-bys exhibited towards him on the way back to Cinder's hideout.

When they got to the entrance, she wasn't exactly happy to find Mercury waiting, a bag of chips in his hands. He had a smug grin on his face, which disappeared instantly upon seeing her company.

"Care to explain why you brought some scraggly friend of yours?" He asked derisively.

"Because I saw him punch a giant beowolf's head off, that's why." Emerald attempts to walk past him, Ken in tow. Said attempt partially succeeded. Partially because Mercury continued to interrogate her, tailing both of them.

"I don't see any gauntlets on him."

"He did it with his bare fists. Which is exactly why I brought him here." Mercury snorted.

"You're full of shit." He said, pointing at the man in front of him "Look at him. He's more feminine than you." He narrowly avoided a kick aimed at his crotch, laughing softly.

"Ass hat." The thief muttered. The young man next to her looked at her curiously. She waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. Don't worry." He seemed to accept that, and went back to his coffee beans.

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" Mercury asked. Eyeing the man.

"Doesn't speak the language." Emerald replied. "He can understand hand gestures, so it's not like I have no clue what he's going on about."

"Why is he eating coffee beans anyway?" The grey-haired boy pulled a half empty bag of chips out of his pocket. He tapped the man on the shoulder, causing turn his head slightly to look at him. "Want some?" He lifted the bag up to offer them, but the man just grimaced and shook his head. One of Mercury's eyebrows rose slightly. "Really? It's salted. Everybody likes salted."

"I offered to buy him something else, but he refused." Emerald commented.

"I'm still confused as to why you brought him here." She turned to glare at him,

"I already told you he's-"

"I heard that." Mercury interrupted. "But why do you think it's a good idea to present him to Cinder. Roman's already trying to get muscle-bound moron King to be included in this little pow-wow we have. I very much doubt she'll consider bringing someone she's never even heard of."

"We'll see." Emerald says dryly. "We'll see."

"Ah! The children are back!" Roman Torchwick exclaimed, smugness painted across his face "And they've apparently brought another rat with them." Next to him stood the large Indigo King. Who held an impressive reputation as physically, the strongest killer in Remnant. It was rumoured that he could tear an ursa in two. It was also rumoured that he ran a very large violence ring. Rumours however, are still rumours unless proven otherwise. His face was quite handsome in all honesty, in a brutish kind of way. He was dark, his hair a lush black, his eyebrows were just thick enough to make his features rugged, yet sophisticated. His beard was large but kept. And his eyes were a beautiful gold. He wore a violet suit with a black shirt underneath and some expensive brown slacks. The only thing really 'thuggish' about him was was his hulking build, making him almost twice the size of anyone else in the room, and a massive brass knuckle-duster on his left fist.

Quite a contrast to the young man Emerald had brought with her.

"Ah, these two must be Sustrai and Black." His voice was rough compared to his features. "Roman here has told me a lot about you."

"Oh really?" Emerald snarked. King hummed in affirmation.

"He described you as 'little shits'." He took time to chuckle. Then looked down on them derisively. "Frankly, I'm already beginning to agree." He turned to Kaneki, who was giving him a hard stare. "And who might this be?"

"Ken Kaneki." Emerald answered for him,

"Sounds quite foreign, doesn't it?" King offered.

"He is foreign." Emerald continued. "Doesn't speak English."

"That would explain why you're talking for him." Roman commented, tutting. "Poor man looks absolutely exhausted. Stressed so hard his hair's turned white before his time. Why'd you bring him here anyway?"

"He punched a beowolf's head off." Roman whistled.

"Impressive. So impressive it's undoubtedly bullshit."

"What is going on here?" A voice arose from behind Roman and King.

"Ah, here she is." Roman announced turning to find Cinder walking towards them. "Hello Cinder."

"Would you care to explain why our little group here is two people larger than it should be, Torchwick?" Cinder asked irritably.

"This is Mr. Indigo King." Roman introduced his friend, who bowed towards her.

"Ah yes. You wanted introduce him to our group, didn't you?" Cinder looked the large man up and down. "You're exploits are well known to me. You _would _be quite useful." King smiled at her heartily.

"I aim to please." He said.

"I would except nothing less." Cinder said. Her glance switched to Kaneki. "And who would this be?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Roman replied. Emerald introduced the young man.

"This is Ken." She said. "Ken Kaneki." The older woman looked him up and down. She didn't seem impressed.

"And why would you bring an old friend of yours here? We can't have _everybody_ we know brought into this. The only reason Mr. King is not currently ash is because not only because he was invited, but because I know what he can bring to the table. This 'Ken' is someone I've never even heard of. All you've done is give him the location of our base of operations, when he could be a possible Atlesian spy." Emerald looked shocked.

"I thought-" She started, only to be interrupted by the older woman.

"Don't think, obey." She said cruelly. Emerald's head sunk low, hugely disappointed. Cinder turned to face King. "You can seal your position by removing this one." She gestured to 'Ken'. The large man grinned sadistically.

"With pleasure, ma'am." He said. Suddenly, at speeds that should not be possible for anyone, aura or no aura, He had sprinted and grabbed hold of the smaller, white haired man. He hoisted him up to the air, and threw him at incredible speed into a wall. Said wall exploded as Kaneki flew through it, appearing completely dead.

Emerald couldn't help but look mortified at the dust cover hole that had been left. Cinder simply looked irritated again.

"I had hoped you would have done it in a less destructive manner." She spat out. "But I guess it will have to-"

"Heheheheheh..."

All heads suddenly snapped back to the hole.

What they saw was a completely unscathed Ken walking through the dust. His eyes closed and his entire being laughing at King.

"Hahahahahah..." His eyes opened. His right one, the same old gray. His left one...

...was black. With a red iris.

"Sore wa chōdo omoshiroidesu."He cackled out something in his own language. "Sore wa hontōni omoshiroidesu."

**A/N: Yay, OC...Joy.**

**I've never really been a fan of OC. Bad ones can ruin a story, and decent ones are few and far inbetween stories. Well, at least that's my opinion.**

**If you have questions and criticisms (constructive or otherwise), feel free to leave a review.**

**See ya next week**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You have no idea how hard it was not to post this chapter early. But now it's Thursday in the UK if only by less than ten minutes. It's about time.**

**Chapter 3: Tastes like Dead Criminal**

Cinder would admit, her interest in Ken had suddenly been piqued.

When she first saw him, the first thing she thought was that he was one of Emeralds friends, before she the had brought the young thief under her tutelage. She remembered the small child, cold and dirty, who wouldn't abandon any of those around her. Who always preached to those people that staying together would keep them alive. They were her family, and Cinder had admired that.

What she admired _more_ was the fact that she had abandoned them, to follow her.

Emerald never told Cinder exactly what she saw in her. Maybe a mother, maybe a teacher, or maybe just an easy money opportunity. It didn't really matter. Emerald was more useful to her than she realized,

But that was beside the point. When cinder had first saw the young man, she thought him an old friend of Emerald, looking for some money to earn for cheap labour.

It became obvious that this wasn't the case. If he had known Emerald in the past, wouldn't he be speaking English? The language spoken in all the major countries? Even if he had been a foreigner before becoming friends with Emerald, he would have picked up the language by now.

It became clear that he was someone the young thief had only recently just met. That let to the question 'Why did she bring him to me?', and that answered itself the moment she heard him laugh, right after being thrown through a wall by 'the strongest killer in Remnant'.

A title that Mr. King felt was being threatened.

"You made a big mistake getting up kid." He growled. "You could have played dead, run away later." His knuckle-duster crackled with energy. Arcs of electricity travelled across it's surface. "Guess that's what I get for being soft these days. I'll have to snap you in two personally." He stretched his neck, causing popping sounds as he snapped it left, right, up, and down. He ran at the small man. The child. Aiming to make good on his word.

Ken puts pressure on his ring finger using his thumb, causing a loud crack to echo around the room.

The young man jumps at the large man, or rather behind him, at speeds which left him nothing more than a blur over the man's left shoulder. He virtually just materializes some distance behind him. Chewing viciously, blood dripping slightly from his mouth.

King was confused briefly. Until by instinct, he happened to feel for his ear.

Not finding it.

"You." He seethed. Ken turned his head back at him. Just to let the man see him swallow his ear. And let him see him put pressure on his middle finger.

Another crack is heard.

"**You little freak!**" King screams at the top of his lungs. Charging and swinging wildly at the small freak who ducked, deflected, all without a weapon. He couldn't get even a single decent hit in.

Ken was suddenly in the air, and made to punch him in the head. King grabbed a hold of his right arm and began squeezing.

"**Bad move bra-**"

The sound of bone breaking could be heard, as Ken uses his left elbow to send the large man flying.

King was knocked a remarkable distance away. Upon landing he looked to see The smaller man's right arm, completely bent backwards. He grinned manically at his work, watching the limb flop useless.

And gaped in shock when it twisted back, looking completely undamaged.

"Odoroki~!" He said something in his bullshit. It didn't matter. It was mocking. He was obviously just mocking him at this point.

The freak pressured his index finger, eliciting a horrid crack.

King wasn't able to make sentences at this point. Just growl and roar in rage, in a _need_ to turn the bastard into a pulp. His iris' had all but dissapear. It really wasn't a pretty sight.

They clashed, and clashed some more. And then some more. More and more fighting. King got more and more tired, and more and more angry. 'Kill him, pulp him, crush him!' kept going on in his mind. A violent mantra. His vision turned red.

Suddenly he felt something poke through his chest.

He looked down. And sadly found a hand sticking out from his chest.

He fell to his knees, shock, fear, dread. He felt all of it. Tears started to drop from his eyes as he began registering the pain. He looked in front of him. Through the tears he saw Roman, an old friend of his, look at him with _pity_, surprisingly. And he also saw Cinder. Who's focus was on what was behind him. His killer. The strongest killer in Remnant was about to be replaced.

He heard the a crack.

And then he didn't see anything, hear any thing, feel anything.

Ken had punched through Kings skull. His fist was right in the middle of a completely gored face.

Cinder couldn't be more happy.

She had her hands on truly, the strongest killer in Remnant. And possibly, the most effective.

It didn't matter if he didn't speak the language. She could have him fully tutored in a month, two at the very most. If she could convince him to join her, he could become a bodyguard, a spy, an assassin with some training. He could easily be adapted into her plan.

And then, there was the fact that he clearly wasn't human or faunus. No human or faunus could move like he could, heal as fast as he could. Even if a hunter damaged him, he could clearly regenerate at impossible speeds, making up two-fold for his obvious lack of aura. And she couldn't help but feel like there was more to him than he had shown in the fight.

"I can admit when I'm wrong." She said suddenly. She turned to Emerald, her face a mask of horror, just like Mercury next to her. "Emerald, I apologise. It seems you may have come across something of limitless potential." The young thief broke from her shock, acknowledging she had heard the older woman. Cinder turned to face Roman. "I apologise Torchwick, but it looks like Mr. King won't be of any use to us."

"It does seem that way." He muttered, staring at the young man currently ripping chunks off of his former friend and eating them, resentment plastered across his face. "I'm gonna go, seeing as how I'm currently not needed." He turned on his heel and walked away. Leaving just Cinder and her two apprentices alone with the monster they had just discovered. Cinder walked elegantly toward the man who was currently brushing brain from his hand, carrying his satchel. His eyes had gone back to normal, evident when he looked up at her. She extended the hand holding his satchel, and used the other to point behind her at the door.

"Roman Torchwick." She said. She then pointed at the other man in the room. "Mercury Black." And finally, at herself. "Cinder Fall." The man stared for a second, all of his earlier ruthlessness gone thankfully. He took the offered item and and fished something out.

It was a mask. A mask that cover the mouth and right eye.

But not the left.

It had whole 'make-shift monster' look to it. And it looked like it would be quite intimidating, on anyone.

"Kaneki." He said. "Boku no namae wa Ken Kaneki des." His left eye turned black again, and he jutted a thumb at it. "Ghoul." He said.

A ghoul, huh?

It had been about a month and a half later. Emerald was walking into an apartment on the inner outskirts of the city. The neighbourhood was crummy. And the crime rate was high, but the inside was clean, well lit and well furnished.

It was spacious enough. Four rooms, well, five if you included the toilet that was separated from the rest of the bathroom. She didn't.

And currently lounging on the sofa, reading a book, was her good friend "Kaneki."

After Cinder 'hired' him, she took him to tailor to get some clothes. He was very specific with what he wanted, interestingly enough. Good shirt, tie, vest, expensive pants, and an eye patch to cover his left eye for whatever reason, an intricate pattern sewn into it. He looked good.

"Yo." He said. "How did you get in?" The tutor Cinder found had a very useful semblance. One that may have not had much use in combat situations, but unparalleled in his field of education. You didn't need unlocked aura to be a hunter, and the same could be said vice versa.

"Thief, remember?" She asked sarcastically. She walked towards the kitchen.

"Ah, I wouldn't recommend going into the kitchen today." The ghoul called from the other room. "It's not exactly 'clean." She knew what he meant by 'clean' at this point. It didn't make her any less queasy.

"On second thought, I'm good." She came back into the living room, and sat in an armchair she had called dibs on last week when Kaneki had bought it. "Cinder wants to let you know were moving to a different warehouse."

"Alright," he said, taking a sip from some coffee on a small table next to the sofa. "I assume it's more to you being here than that."

"What? Don't think I like visiting?" She pouted.

"I know you do." Kaneki responded, flipping the page on his book. "But from what I know about her, Cinder doesn't so paranoid she would send you all the way here just to send a message that could easily be sent over a scroll." Emerald sighed.

"The White Fang has been generous enough to supply us with a workforce." She said. "She wanted me to tell you that you can't eat any of them." Kaneki looked surprised.

"Just because I can eat them, doesn't I'm going to go crazy and eat all our support." He flipped onto the next page of his book. He had gotten quite far into it considering how big it and that he only picked it up a couple days ago.

Emerald sighed "I know. And so those Cinder. She just wants to make it completely clear to keep your...food shopping." Kaneki hums lowly.

"What else?" Emerald looked hesitant for a moment, but decided it would be easier just to say it.

"She wants to know more about you." She says curtly. The ghoul flipped to the next page in his book.

"There's undoubtedly more to it than that." He sighed. "When?"

"Now."

"Then we should get going." Kaneki snapped his book shut.

**A/N: Boom, language barrier gone. At least during dialogue with others characters. I understand that many people won't understand what's written, but I hate the idea of putting translations in brackets. It's just a gripe for me.**

**Also, I'm gonna start answering questions now, after chapter five is published. I'll pick the ones that aren't repeats. If you want your question answered, PM me.**

**One last thing: This is how long a chapter should generally be.**

**Well, 'till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Tastes like Dust (Blech!)**

Emerald lead the ghoul to the new base of operations. Chatting idly. "It's still some-what difficult to believe you're not from this world." She commented.

"It does sound a little out there." Kaneki replied. "But nothing suggests it's wrong. This world is incredibly different, the technology is vastly superior, the history is...actually very similar." His revelation caused his brow to furrow. He quickly shrugged off his thoughts to return to his conversation. "Anyway, nothing suggests you've had ghoul problems either. If you had, I believe hunters would make more regular appearances in the cities.

"I doubt we'd need that many." Emerald muttered. "Hunters are the best warriors Remnant has to offer. They're abilities and weaponry make them worth more than fifty regular military personnel."

"Regular weaponry doesn't even affect ghouls. Knives break and bullets bounce off our skin." Kaneki states.

"Well then I doubt the humans just let ghouls run rampant, wherever you came from." She said.

"No they didn't. The CCG had aimed to push the ghouls out of Tokyo, which was the city I was living in at the time." Kaneki responded.

"CCG?"

"Oh right, my bad." Kaneki apologised, realising he had never explained his past situation to the green-haired girl. "The Commission of Counter Ghoul, abbreviated as the CCG, were the federal agency that dealt with all ghoul-related crime around the world." The pair walk past a trio of young faunus, who shudder as they walk past and hurry away. "Their agents were to ghouls, what hunters are to grimm. And from what I've seen in the news, about as powerful."

"You really shouldn't be comparing yourself to grimm, y'know." Emerald points out. After several minutes of walking, they finally reach the docks, and the warehouse area that Cinder was using as a base of operations.

It looks like any other warehouse in the area; But that was the point. Being inconspicuous made them harder to locate. Sure, the cost of buying was probably high, however Cinder had plenty of funds to work with, from various sources. On the outside it was just another warehouse among several others. On the inside however, hundreds of crates filled with dust were being moved around, organized, by masked men and women wearing the uniform of the infamous White Fang. Most of which tensed up considerably upon sensing the ghoul. Work seemed to halt altogether. Well, at least until a casually hooded man in wearing an officer's mask came in.

"What's going on? Why have we-" He laid eyes on Kaneki, and bristled. He was quiet for a few seconds, before snapping back to attention. "Back to work!" He barked. Every faunus in the room went back to their tasks, now accompanied by a tense atmosphere that refused to leave.

"Yeah..." The ghoul said awkwardly. "Sorry about that." The officer shook his head.

"It's not a problem, sir." He was tense, Emerald could tell that much. He didn't seem any more comfortable than his subordinates. "They're trained to stand firm against things like this." From his voice it was easy to tell he was straining to sound level. His posture changed slightly to some revelation he must have had. "Follow me, Miss Fall wishes to speak with you."

As they walked out of the warehouse and to a small office building, they passed by several pier workers carrying crates around. At least, to the untrained eye they were pier workers. Kaneki and Emerald however, noticed one who was chatting idly with others had left a short, brown fluffy tail untucked.

The officer noticed as well. "Hey! Tuck your tail in!" The faunus turned his head towards them, most likely about to insult them until seeing who had addressed him, and who accompanied him. Word audibly died in his throat, as he and his colleagues continued to stare at the ghoul.

"What's causing them to stare?" Emerald queried, throwing a navy-blue wallet into the air which Kaneki swiftly snatched. The ghoul handed the stunned officer his wallet back, who trembled at the close proximity.

"Uhh..." He mumbled something under his breath. Kaneki interrupted him, assuring him he didn't mind whatever he said. "Well, sir...something about you is just...terrifying." He finished lamely. "I'm just sensing something, and it's making me nervous. I can't even describe it as anything other than fear-inducing." Kaneki stayed silent for a moment, processing this information.

"Thank you for sharing." The ghoul finally said. "I'm not going to be able to do much about it however. So please bear with it."

"No problem, sir." The officer said, seeming a little less tense.

"You're late." Cinder informed the ghoul and the thief, who kicked at the ground beneath them. They currently stood in a meeting room, with several chairs and a large table. "I'm very busy this week, so my tolerance for your unpunctuality is low."

"It's my fault." Kaneki spoke up. "I'll take responsibility." Cinder watched him briefly, before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is why you're here." She said. "Take a seat." The ghoul ended up on a leather chair, spinning lazily. Emerald decided to follow his lead. "Well then, let's get started. I believe we should start with more important questions."

"Ask away." Kaneki prompted.

"Why did you follow Emerald out of the the Lamp Light Forest?" Emerald stopped spinning in her chair, and began to stare at the white haired man.

"So that's what that forest was called." Kaneki murmured. "Well then, I should start from why I was in there in the first place." Cinder leaned forward. "I have no clue."

"You don't know?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. Kaneki shook his head.

"I remember thinking that I wanted to rest. Next thing I know, I'm lying down on dirt, surrounded by trees and a starry sky. And next to me sat that leather satchel with a note on it." Kaneki takes a second to look out a nearby window. "With no knowledge as to how I got there, I started to wander in one direction. I start making a few plans in case I come across anything hostile, and my thoughts started wondering towards 'what do I do if I come across somebody?'"

My first idea was to just eat them. Get a bit of strength up." Emerald became slightly more wary. "However, I figured that doing so would just make finding civilisation harder, as soon as I finished thinking that, I bump in Emi, here." The thief relaxes, before giving the ghoul a pointed look.

"_Emi?_" She didn't look impressed with the nickname. Kaneki shrugged.

"That explains that." Cinder hummed. "And the next question: Why are you still working with me?"

"Care to elaborate?" Kaneki asks.

"You're English is excellent, not considering you only started learning over a month ago. I know of few people who have learnt the language as quickly as you have. Then there's your strength, intelligence, agility, you could make quite the name for yourself as a huntsman." Cinder conjured a small flame, letting it dance across her hand. "So why stay with us?" She said, gesturing to herself and the thief.

"The tutors are the ones to thank for my fast learning, I only really deserve credit for grasping their lessons." Kaneki stopped spinning, becoming bored with it. "As to why I stay, well...hunters are protectors of the people. I'm not wrong in saying this, am I?"

"Not at all."

"I am not a protector of the people. I protect my friends, the other reason I don't leave, not the people. In fact, I eat the people. I need to do so to live. That makes me a threat to the people, and therefore an enemy." Kaneki elicited a pop from his middle finger using his thumb. "Then there's you guys."

"Hmm?" Cinder raised an eyebrow again.

"Emerald here was really lucky she bumped into me at that moment." Kaneki states. "Had she been around ten seconds earlier, she would be dead." The thief's eyes widened. "However, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't know Mercury or you, my tutors and Roman, who I do in fact regret knowing." The pyro smirked. "I consider her a friend, as I do Mercury. Since they trust you, I'll help."

Cinder stopped extinguished the flame, her eyes narrowing. "And me?"

"Again, I'll help because they trust you enough to give up their lives for whatever your plan is." Kaneki said, before leaning forward on the table. "However, should anything happen to them, and it turns out to be your fault, you _will _regret it." His features were blank, were anybody else to walk in at that moment they would have never guessed the threat he had just announced. Cinder didn't seem happy about, and neither did Emerald.

"Kaneki! You can't just-" The pyro cut off the thief, holding up a hand to silence her.

"If anything happens to you, as a friend ha can do what he feels is right." Cinder tells Emerald. "you're not expendable, as shall be treated as such." The green-haired girl went silent. "Now," The pyro turned back to Kaneki. "There are some other things I need to know. Things that you won't be able to tell me in enough detail. Which Is why I brought this." Cinder put on a simple black glove and pulled out a metal box. Opening the box revealed a light pink crystal.

"What is it?" Kaneki enquired, eyes squinted at the object.

"Memory dust crystal." Cinder informed. "Camera companies use the processed version to allow phones and cameras to record in high definition, while law enforcement uses these crystals as a way of seeing what suspects had done in the week or days during a crime, but only within that time frame. The reason they can only check that time frame is because their budget doesn't allow them to use pure dust, so their stuck with the ones with all the imperfections. Pure crystals can last up to half a decade."

Kaneki focused back on Cinder "And that's a pure crystal?" The ghoul asked.

"Indeed." Cinder confirmed. "They work on touch. As soon as someone touches it, the memories of the person are imprinted, allowing anybody who touches it next to view the memories at their leisure."

"And you want me to touch it." Kaneki guessed. Cinder took the crystal in her gloved hand and extended it in front of the ghoul. "It all started around two years ago." He said. "I hope you're ready."

"There's only one way to find out." Cinder replied. The ghoul eyed the crystal for a few moments before allowing a finger to rest on it. The dust quickly start glowing, brighter and brighter, leaving pink light illuminating the surface of the table. Emerald leaned forward, but Kaneki stopped her.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave now." He said. "For you're own sake." The thief looked up at Cinder, who nodded and gestured for her to leave. She complied reluctantly leaving the room empty but for two individuals. "Now I should warn you: You are _not_ going to enjoy this."

**A/N: I've been re-reading all my other prepared chapters. And I realised I _really _need to rewrite a lot of them. I should easily get the next chapter rewritten easily though, so expect that.**

**If you haven't realised at this point, something I'm to blame for in that case, this is set after the end of the Tokyo Ghoul manga. So that's for all you asking about that.**

**Oh, and one last thing. Next chapter will define where we are episode-wise in RWBY. **

**Man, I need to find a cover soon. Well, see you next week. **


	5. Chapter 5

It had been about a week after their meeting at the docks. Cinder was in Kaneki's apartment, sitting on the living room sofa with delicious cup of coffee and a folder in her hands, while a metal case rested at her feet.

Yes, a week since she saw the...events that had lead up to the ghoul being in the forest. It still wasn't clear exactly _how _he ended up there. Or on Remnant for that matter. It did however, give her plenty of useful information. With what she now knew, decided to look more into the 'Rc cells' that seemed quite similar to a recent discovery in human and faunus cell biology, which the team had yet to name.

The scientists seemed proud of their discovery on the paper, but only gave vague possibilities as to how it could be implemented into, well, anything. They didn't even know how many could possibly in the body It seemed that they weren't quite sure what the cells could do yet. Cinder, however, knew what they were capable of. And she wanted to test something specific.

How exactly would dust effect these cells?

They're abilities could be seen in a ghoul's kagune, something else she had learnt about recently. Predatory organs that came in many shapes and sizes. Biological weapons, that was what the cells could be used for. However, the possibility of mixing these cells with dust intrigued her.

Normally, the use of raw dust would require aura in order for it to be used to it's full extent. But if it _was _possible for the Rc cells to absorb the dust, then it could hopefully use their properties. The idea of such power was too tempting to _not_ investigate.

Hence why she was in Kaneki's apartment. And why she had the metal case with her.

The ghoul himself walked into the room at that moment, with his own cup of coffee. "Sorry for the wait." He said.

"It's fine." Cinder said distractedly, staring into her cup. It became uncomfortable, to say the least, to look at the ghoul. Looking through his memories wasn't the correct term for what had happened. The correct term _would _have been 'absorbing'. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded of exactly what he's gone through. It had been shocking at first, but now the memories we're more of a nuisance than anything, distracting her from important conversations. "I'm here because I have a job for you."

"Oh really?" The ghoul asked, his tone expressing some light boredom. "I haven't received a proper job yet."

"I needed to find something less essential, purely in order to test your ability. I hope you understand."

"I do." They both took a sip of their coffee. "So, what is it?"

Cinder put down her cup. "Two days ago, Roman Torchwick was in the middle of a routine store hold up when a huntress-in-training kicked one of the help out through the store window."

"That doesn't sound nice." Kaneki commented.

"Had I not made it there in time, Roman would have been behind bars." Cinder said.

"And that doesn't sound _bad._" Kaneki popped one of his fingers, making the woman shiver slightly.

"While Mr. Torchwick's opinions are less than desirable, he is necessary to the plan." The ghoul let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, what am I in all this?"

"We discovered that the child is a minor prodigy, recently invited to study at the prestigious Beacon Academy." Cinder handed him the folder in her hand. "These are the details you should know, including appearance, weaponry, etcetera." Kaneki set his own cup down and began perusing through the information. "I'll be going now. The contents of the case belong to you. It also contains the mission itself, and a simple request." Cinder stood leaving the room, and the apartment.

* * *

Kaneki picked up the surprisingly light case. The information in the folder was simple enough. Name: Ruby Rose, age: fifteen, yada yada. It contained a picture of her and her weapon; Something that seemed nightmarishly deadly. He made a few guesses as to what he was supposed to do, somewhat worried he was being sent to kill a child. He ignored the possibilities, and opened the case.

His eyes lit up at the site.

Setting the case down next to his coffee, he pulled out a grey, _armoured _version of his battle suit. It was reinforced with various thin, flexible sheets of metal covering the limbs and torso, making slashes and the like useless. Then there were the strange slots on the sides of the arms, with thin black strips leading to his lower back; Exactly where his kagune would appear. He wasn't sure what they did, but he was suspected something interesting.

He then pulled a simple black hoodie with pockets at the front. Putting it on quickly revealed that, for whatever reason, the area inside between the elbow and wrist was noticeably looser, making it look kind of puffy. It didn't look like it would be a hindrance though, and it was nice, in an odd sort of way. Taking it off, the ghoul checked the back, a minimalistic eye patch silhouette above what appeared to be the grin of a monster. Sharp teeth creating a crude semicircle.

He wasn't quite sure whether to be offended or honoured.

Putting the hood down. He looked into the case again, finding four packets with powder in them. Red, blue, gray and yellow. It was probably dust, and it looked like it would fit somewhere.

Then his mind came back to the slots on his new battle suit, and he knew _exactly_ what the packets would do.

Grinning, he picked up the last thing in the case. A small piece of paper containing the details of his mission. He was going to be playing the role of spy, apparently. It basically came down to recording information on Ruby Rose's interactions with others and her abilities. It didn't sound too difficult. The school year was about to start, so she'd be going through initiation. That would occur in three days.

Turning to the other side of the paper, Kaneki read the request; use the dust packets at some point in the near future and report if they actually work or not. Seemed simple enough. He wouldn't need them on this mission if he was only spying. Checking his scroll revealed it would take two days to even get to Vale, and the next airship was in...an hour.

He packed his new gear and his mask, and left.

* * *

"Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find..." Ruby had been running for a while now in search of her sister. Thankfully, she hadn't bumped into anyone else so there was some hope. "Yang! Yaaaang!" She called out. She started worrying. 'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always-'

She thought she saw someone briefly before they disappeared from her view. She was pretty sure they hadn't gotten eye-contact , fortunately, so she kept running. Her thoughts went to running into someone she didn't know for a few brief moments, before returning to who she knew. 'Okay... Who do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, aaaand...'

And then she bumped into the one person she _knew _was gonna be difficult.

That was a bit too close for the ghoul's liking. But he now knew who the Rose girl was partnered up with.

Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee dust company; one of the largest producers and exporters of dust in the entirety of Remnant. It was also the most shady by a _long_ way, with it's controversial labour forces. Cinder had actually shown him images and videos of the conditions that the faunus 'employees' went through. He wasn't a fan.

The heiress quickly turned on her heel after a few seconds, walking away from the hooded girl who made and gave up on a feeble attempt to follow her. They probably didn't have the best relationship. Around half a minute later she came back, pulled the smaller girl by the cloak in the opposite direction and left to do whatever they were supposed to do. He wasn't sure.

So they walked around for a bit, the Rose girl trying to be friendly, and show she was capable by sprinting off into the distance, for some reason. Leaving the Schnee girl by herself. She didn't seem happy about it. Rustling could be heard in the bushes, which the ghoul picked up easily enough. The heiress however took a moment to realise what was happening.

Beowolves, quite a few too. Well, if she was going to be working with the Rose girl, Kaneki might as well take note of her capability. Taking a stance the Schnee girl prepared to fight. Just as she charged, the Rose girl suddenly appeared, killing the heiress' target. In an attempt not to impale her, the Schnee redirects her blow and sends a trail of dust fire to _the tree the ghoul was hiding in_.

Thinking quickly, he jumped out of tree and into a not so close one. As he landed,he watched his previous hiding spot explode into flames. It was a good thing he was fast enough.

He noticed the two leaving, and a few minutes later he finds them arguing about how that should have been easy and it the other person's fault. In the ghouls mind, sarcastic clapping could be heard. He looks at the tree their next to, finding a giant bird grimm roosting. A tree that the rose girl promptly cut, unknowing of what was above.

His internal clapping intensified, drowning the sound of him thinking something along the lines of 'Why am I even bothering?'

* * *

The ghoul now found himself chasing the giant shadow bird. Mostly because it _may_ have grabbed onto his target, and by 'may' he meant 'had'.

He was becoming more and more irritated as time went on. He was also coming to the conclusion that teenage hunters were the worst possible type of teenager. He was glad he had brought coffee with him, otherwise this entire day would have become unbearable. And then the Rose girl jumped.

The enthusiastic applause did not help his headache in the slightest.

Kaneki found himself at the edge of a clearing. In said clearing was what appeared to be an abandoned temple. Turning to the sky, he looked up just in time to watch the cloaked girl collide mid-air with some unfortunate student. The ghoul took out his coffee Thermos, unzipped his mask and took a sip.

…

…

What was in the Thermos may have been hot chocolate. However, now it _wasn't_ in the Thermos. It was splattered across the tree next to him.

It was there that he remembered, his Thermos wasn't _green_.

* * *

After watching a decent fight between two giant grimm and eight students, one of which being his target, the ghoul had found his way to the above cat walks of auditorium. Was that how it was pronounced? He hoped so, he was way too annoyed to correct himself even if he _was_ wrong. A bunch of people had been put into teams all of which he didn't about with the exception of those coming on stage now.

"And finally," An old man, presumably the headmaster, ushered the four onto the stage. "Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." The ghoul began writing on his scroll. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY." Wait. "Led by...Ruby Rose!"

The ghoul almost dropped his scroll into the crowd below.

He was done for the day. It could not have been more emotionally draining in any way. He was sitting on the edge of a landing pad at the front of the main avenue, watching as the sun began to set. It was quickly checking his notes and writing a draft for his report. I was the only thing he could really do. It was surprising how tired he actually was. He could find a motel when he got to vale, which would only take a few hours to travel to.

"Ahem."

Kaneki closed his scroll and slid it into his pockets. Standing up, but not turning towards the woman who was obviously behind him. "Would you care to explain what you are doing here?"

"Hmm." The ghoul mock-pondered. "Yes. Yes I would mind."

"Would you care to back off of the landing pad so we can settle this peacefully?"

"No."

"You're being very difficult."

"I know." He turned to get a look of the woman. A blonde lady with green eyes, pointing a riding crop at him. He'd laugh, but he knew it could probably blow up his head.

"And what exactly do you plan to do now?" The woman asked. The ghoul raised his arms at his sides.

And then he fell backward.

* * *

**A/N: Finally!**

**So yeah, we are in season 1. Mid season 1 as well. ****It won't last long, but I feel like this is as good a place to start as any.**

**Any questions you want to ask (Preferably ones that don't ask what happens next) send a PM and I'll answer you.**

**Well, see you guys next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Now before you say anything, yes this is a shorter chapter. That is all.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Tastes like Quiet**

"And that's the gist of it." Kaneki had changed out of his battle suit and was boarding an airship back to Mistral, and on the phone. On the other end was a certain pyrofile "I'll write up a full report when I get back. Anything you want to update me with?"

"Mercury's back from Atlas." Cinder told him. "He was successful in his mission."

"I would expect so." Kaneki took a seat as the airship took off. "And how's Emerald?"

"House sitting for you." Cinder informed. "I'm pretty sure she wasn't asked to though."

"Eh, I can appreciate the thought. Though I am slightly worried that she's eaten all my food."

"Emerald isn't really the Gluttonous type." Cinder remarks. "Or the cannibalistic type, though it's not my place to pry."

"I can't see that either." The ghoul sighs. "Well, I guess that's a good thing. I don't endorse cannibalism."

"I know you don't." She _did,_ now that Kaneki thought about it. "Which is why you won't like what I have to say next."

"Oh wonderful." Kaneki's mood suddenly dampened. "What are you doing?"

"I want more ghouls." The ghoul was silent for a few moments. "I can also think of several ways to on how to make them

"I'm confused by two things here." He stated. "One: How that is in any way a smart thing to, and two: Where exactly are you going to find people willing to become _monsters?_"

"I've already found some possible candidates. Cannibals." Kaneki's free hand found itself covering his face. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out."

"As am I." The ghoul muttered, removing his hand from his face and popping his index finger. People nearby shivered at the sound, the faunus more so. "Why is it that faunus act so strange around me?" He asked himself.

"If I were to guess." The pyrofile's voice startled him back into conversation. "It has something to do with your lack of aura. Sentient beings aren't normally associated with not having a soul."

"Wow, I _am _sounding more like grimm every week." Kaneki mused. "I keep joking about it but the similarities are becoming uncanny."

"There are ways of producing artificial aura." Cinder consoled. "It's all currently top secret but the Atlesian army does have a few interesting toys. I'll see if I can find you some. That should solve your problem."

"Thank you." Kaneki looked forward, gazing out of the window opposite him. "So, I completed my mission, what's next for me?"

"Your first actual mission is a few months from now." Cinder said. "An SDC freighter will dock in Vale. Roman Torchwick will be overseeing the acquisition of it's contents. I want you to act as bodyguard, seeing as his last one ended up dead recently." The ghoul yawned quietly. "He's looking for a good enough replacement but he won't be able to find one in time."

"I know I shouldn't be complaining about a job, but couldn't you have _anyone _besides me do it?"

"Emerald has a mission that will end around the same time your one starts. And Mercury still needs to recuperate." Cinder tone only changed slightly, but there was definite irritation. "Look, do the job well, and you'll get a big reward. I'll even let you choose what you wan-"

"I want a coffee shop."

"What?"

"Let's be honest, if these cannibals you talked about do accept and become ghouls you plan on pushing them onto me." Cinder was silent. "I wanted to return to Anteiku. Anteiku is what saved me, and Anteiku is what gave me the strength to fight." Kaneki inspected his hand. "These new ghouls are going to need something like that.

They're going to need help, in any way possible."

* * *

Cinder sat in a large, clean hotel room. The white carpet underneath her feet was thick and comforting. In fact, the entire room was almost completely monotone, save for a few minimalist paintings that were spread sparsely across across the walls. Her goal meant she didn't really stay one place for fear of being caught. So in the end, it became easier to stay in hotels across Mistral. This particular one was among her favourites.

She sat on the edge her king-sized bed, covered in black silk sheets, as she processed what the ghoul had just asked of her.

His perceptiveness caught her off-guard when it really shouldn't have. He was right, after all. He was the one with the experience. And even if she did too, she was already busy enough with Mercury and Emerald. The only person who could really be capable of keeping the ghouls under control would be Kaneki.

Then there was his request.

"I'll consider it. Now go rest up." She closed the call and threw a scroll behind her, stretching her arms.

_'They're going to need help, in any way possible.'_

Her thoughts drifted to the ghoul's memories. But not to that monster Yamori or that strangely familiar Investigator. No, she thought of Anteiku.

She didn't confuse his memories for her own. She knew better than that. What she really thought about was the effect that coffee shop had on the ghoul.

_'Anteiku is what saved me, and Anteiku is what gave me the strength to fight.'_

The empathy she was feeling was way very distracting, especially considering she shouldn't be feeling it.

Turning her thoughts away from that, a coffee shop wouldn't be difficult to get. And if it helped with training the cannibals on actually _living _as ghouls, it would be easily worth the cost. I may even be a decent source of funding for the ghoul, meaning she could focus more money into her plan There was no real reason not to allow it. Kaneki could enjoy a few things

Besides, his coffee was good.

* * *

"What did you do?" Emerald was currently blocking the door of Kaneki's apartment, fear clearly written across her face. The question was simple and obvious: What happened?

"Nothing!" She piped up, straining to keep the door closed as the ghoul 'gently' pulled on the handle. "Nothing at all!"

"Well then, you should have no problem letting me in, shouldn't you?" The thief squirmed as she tried to dig her feet into the ground even more than she had been already.

"So there might be a _small_ problem." She admitted.

"'Might'. What an interesting way of saying 'is'." Kaneki didn't look impressed. You have five seconds before I start opening this door." The thief bolted away from the door for fear of getting flung into a wall. She immediately regretted her decision as the ghoul walked into his apartment. Rushing in after him revealed he was in the living room, staring at the...problem. "You know, not only do I _not _own a gaming console, I also do _not _own a broken TV." The thief winced at the lack of anger the ghoul exhibited as he continued staring at the busted screen.

"It was an accident, really!" She blurted. "A nevermore got in through the window and I may have missed the first shot." Kaneki's lack of _any_ emotion was terrifying her more than anything. He pinched the bridged of his nose, letting out a long sigh.

Before he could say anything about the matter, Emerald's scrolled received a text. Scanning the screen, the thief let out a sigh of her own. "That was Cinder." She told the ghoul. "I really have to go and see her. I'm sorry about the TV, I'll pay you back soon." Emerald left at a pace slightly faster than normal. Kaneki nodded curtly never taking an eye off the television.

He left the room, entering his own dark blue bedroom. It held a basic single bed, a bookshelf, a desk and a swivel chair to go with it. Taking a seat, the ghoul enlarged his scroll and began writing a full report of what had occurred at Beacon Academy.

Upon finishing the report, the ghoul let out a loud yawn, stretching his arms. He then paused, an epiphany all but smacking him in the face. Leaving the room briefly to fetch a piece of paper and a pencil. Returning to his chair, he quickly began drawing large, complex complex symbols. He nodded at the sight:

静かな夢

Shizukana Yume.

* * *

**A/N:Before you ask what that means, let me say it will be revealed in a later chapter. I've also put a hint somewhere in this chapter, so there's that.**

**Oh god it keeps looking like I'm shipping Cinder/Kaneki. There's gotta be a better way of writing this that I'm not seeing.**

**One last thing: yes, shit's about to go _down._**

**Hope you can join me for it. 'Till next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Over a hundred followers on some dumb writing exercise. Words could not even begin to describe my confusion.**

**Well, I can at least say thank you for showing interest in this story. All things considered, you guys rock.**

**Here's a long chapter. A thank you of sorts.**

* * *

Finally, the day of the acquisition had come.

Kaneki stood in the shadows of some freight containers, observing the procedure but keeping his distance as to not distract the white fang. It had been a couple months since his last mission. Curiously enough, he hadn't received anything as risky as that until now, having to stay content with looking at property in Vale. Not that he minded.

But now the mission arrived, at the specified time on the _dot_. Schnee Dust Company must have a low tolerance for tardiness. Which is good because Torchwick had been insufferable for the past few days.

Kaneki knew that the group he was apart of had criminal intent, he had accepted that when he first learned of Cinder's goals.

That did not change the fact that he saw Roman as barely anything more than scum. His feelings were known to the crook, but he didn't really care as evidenced by the way he treated the White Fang grunts in Kaneki's presence.

Kaneki could respect the White Fang. The way society treated faunus was appalling and the SDC mines were abhorrent, at best. They weren't even a threat like ghouls so the discrimination didn't make any sense to him. Really, at the end of the day, they were just people doing what they thought was right. Fighting to claim their place in the world.

Kind of contrasting from him fighting to _keep_ his place in his own.

He respected them, so he didn't care for how Roman treated them. The yelling, the threatening, the harassment and worse, it all grated on Kaneki. However, knowledge of his presence would impede work due to the fact that the faunus seemed scared of him. So he took to staying in the shadows, able to keep an eye on Torchwick without causing incident.

And in his experience, incidents normally end up in chaos.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" The crook yelled at the grunts unloading crates from the containers. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?" Kaneki rolled his open eye, becoming increasingly irritated. He would be more so, had he not just smelt someone new approaching fast. Roman didn't however as he was busy berating someone else.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" A few moments passed before he found a blade at his throat. "What the-" It did take a moment for his predicament to sink in. "Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!" The female assailant behind him shouted at the grunts now aiming rifles at her. That assailant turned out to be that faunus off of Team RWBY. Something Belladonna, Kaneki couldn't quite remember.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman said.

She undid her bow in a fluid motion, revealing a pair of black cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! why are you aiding this scum?" She asked them.

Kaneki quickly made the connection easily with it being flung into his face. It wasn't expected but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that his mission required him to intervene, unfortunately. Torchwick smirked at the smaller girl. The ghoul zipped up his hoodie.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" He asked rhetorically.

"What are you talking about?" The cat faunus didn't seem to quite understand the current situation. However, considering the look the crook had on his face, that would be remedied in a less than subtle fashion.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!" The girl brought the blade closer to his neck.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." She all but growled at him. Torchwick's smirk just grew. Suddenly, all the bullheads in the area started rising. The girl's eyes widened in shock.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." The crook said teasingly. After flipping up his hood he realised that this was where he stepped in.

While the Belladonna girl was distracted, he sprinted over. Before the the girl could react, he moved the blade away from Torchwick's neck, and kicked her in the stomach.

Her aura protected her somewhat, but it didn't stop her from flying off. Or landing painfully. She looked up at her assailant, bristling at his lack of any discernible aura.

Kaneki looked at his hand, observing a cut left by the blade with some surprise. He turned his head by a fraction towards Roman.

"Please leave." The ghoul said, eye returning to the now healed cut. The crook shrugged half-heartedly.

"Hey, who am I to question such a solid plan?" He said before walking off to a bullhead that hadn't risen yet. The girl hopped of and started running at him.

"Get back here!" She shouted. Kaneki lazily kicked her, forcing her back and away from Torchwick. "Out of my way!" She yelled at him.

"I apologise, Ms. Belladonna, but that won't be possible." The ghoul droned. Her eyes widened.

"How do y-" Her question was cut short when some blonde faunus with a monkey tail descended onto Kaneki, rushing forward and swinging a staff which forced the ghoul to retreat a short distance.

"Need some help?" The blonde asked the ravenette, a smirk on his face. She nodded towards him before turning back to Kaneki, shivering slightly but readying her weapon nonetheless. The monkey faunus looked the ghoul before shivering himself. "Well aren't you freaky?"

What little of the ghoul's visible expression didn't change. Instead he simply extended his arm, beckoning them forward. Then he cracked a finger.

The monkey faunus rushed forward with staff collapsed in two nunchakus. Kaneki would have been a bit more aggressive had he not noticed the gun barrels at the last second. The shots forced him to dodge faster while staying his ground. After several seconds of close calls however, a large enough opening emerged for a vicious kick. The force sent the faunus flying, landing gracefully on his feet before clutching his side with a wince

"Sun! You alright?" The Belladonna girl asked. The boy named Sun raised a single hand, giving a shaky wave of dismissal. She nodded, turning away from him to focus on the ghoul. Her eyes hardened, readying her weapon.

And then she began bouncing off some shadow clones.

The ghoul recoiled, barely dodging an attack that would have rendered his throat rather useless.

The cat faunus refused to let up. Attack after attack came in, blade and gun. Kaneki was able to dodge the attacks however, and was even able to throw in a few dead-on hits. But they were too light to do any significant damage to the girl's aura, and slowly she was beginning to push him back. And it was at this moment that the monkey faunus had decided to jump back into the fight.

Bullet after bullet whizzed passed the ghoul's face, his insane reflexes keeping him from getting brain all over the floor. The faunus pair were putting on more pressure and were gonna push him into a wall if he didn't do something soon.

So, he went on the offensive.

When another swing of one of the monkey faunus' nunchucks came down upon him, the ghoul grabbed it and pulled, yanking the blonde in his direction and a kick to the stomach. The first direct hit was his, and it was time to push the advantage.

Painful attacks wailed on the monkey faunus. When he seemed dazed enough, Kaneki did one of the cruellest things you can do to a man with your foot. And the force of said attack sent the monkey flying like a massive bullet right into the Belladonna girl.

Who 'shadow-stepped' above said bullet.

"Sorry." She called behind her.

Kaneki scowled at the ravenette. His mask did a good job of hiding his annoyance. It was a good thing he had thought of a way deal with the cat faunus.

He started running towards her, feigning a direct charge. She unknowingly did the same thing. Unlike the last time however, Kaneki was ready.

Time slowed as she hopped left, leaving a clone in her wake. The ghoul raised his right arm, aiming at the now dissipating shadow. The cat faunus stabbed at him from

And thatwas when he raised his _left_ arm and punched her in the face.

He thought he heard her nose break but he wasn't quite sure. The sounds she was making supported the possibility. Sounds that were replaced with a pained groan. He sighed as he cracked another finger. He would have rather not fought her, but that would have led to her facing Roman.

"Hey!" A young female voice cried from a distance. Kaneki turns to the source to find the Rose girl on top of some containers. Kaneki was lucky enough to find a sizeable chunk of debris at his feet. The small red-head turned to talk to someone.

The ghoul murmured something before picking up the debris and flinging it at high speeds towards the cloaked girl, who turned at just the right moment to get it straight to the side of her face. The rock knocked her away a bit just as another person appeared in his line of view, some ginger with green eyes he had never seen before. Whoever she was, she wasn't happy with what he just did.

Suddenly, several swords appeared from behind her, each appearing to be floating but actually. Kaneki did a brief scan of the area. The White Fang and Roman were leaving, that meant that some of the dust was on the bullheads. The girl, whoever she was, would more than likely be a detriment to his mission and attack his charge.

It seemed like now was a good time to actually get serious. It also helped that he still needed to test those patches.

He had a few of the purple purple patches in the slots on his arms. Why not try those out?

The ghoul took his hoodie of in order to decrease the chance of ripping it. And from behind him appeared a _purple _tentacle rather than the usual red one, with a gray tip.

The ghoul awed at the 'upgrade' to his kagune, before turning back to see several swords fly at him. Instinctively he started dodging the blades, his exposed kagune increasing his agility to the point where he was bouncing off the swords to avoid them.

A new blade came rushing towards him. But instead of dodging like before, he hopped into the air, landed on the blade, and sprung at the one who was controlling them.

More blades rushed towards him, yet he continued to jump between them, getting closer to his attacker, who's hard glare remained unchanged as he neared.

He did one final leap before finding himself in the air high above the sword girl. He didn't see the Rose girl though. Maybe he knocked her back further than he had intended. It didn't really matter.

What mattered was the sword flying in the towards his chest. He couldn't dodge, It was too close for him to move in time. All he really had access to was his kagune. It seemed like it was time to find out exactly what had changed. He didn't have much choice in the matter.

He covered his chest with his kagune, and as the blade zoomed closer, some sort of rock-type substance formed around the tip and went downward, covering a large strip of the tentacle. The blade smacked against the substance before rebounding off and flying into the ginger girl's hand. The rock disintegrated, leaving him open but unharmed.

The ghoul had landed on the container. Another blade whizzed over his head, whizzing past his hair by an inch or so. The blade came around again, aiming for his back. With a flick of his tentacle another strip of rock formed on it and batted the sword off course leaving it to fly into the girl's other free hand expertly. The rest of the swords formed a floating, compact semicircle at her back, keeping them all close to her.

Kaneki let out a soft, tuneless hum before cracking a finger.

Four blades came rushing from behind the girl. As did another purple tentacle from the ghoul. Each sword bounced off of the hard cracked surface before floating behind the girl again.

"I apologise for attacking your friend, but no one can interfere." The ghoul said. "Please, leave." The first of the bullheads started leaving.

"You hurt her, I feel it's only right if I reciprocate." The girl said. The blades at her back flourishing.

"Then I also apologise for what happens next." The rock on Kaneki's kagune formed a sharp point as it stabbed at the girl who skilfully dived out of the way. She sent out her own barrage of swing blade while sprinting directly at him. The ghoul did the same.

Sparks flew as metal and rock clashed. The girl could hit harder than the ghoul had expected. She blew through his blocks, leaving him open for a heavier attacks. Kaneki was annoyed of aura-boosted strength as he dodged a would be disembowelment. The flying swords and rocky kagune slammed into each other above, delivering and deflecting removing any advantage either opponent had.

The girl had the advantage of aura shielding though, meaning even with the heavy damage Kaneki was dealing, she was shrugging it all off.

That is until Kaneki saw the girl's eyes widen and pupils dilate as she took the heaviest punch Kaneki had dealt that day. She was knocked back considerably, her swords were falling out of the air, and she appeared to have the wind knocked out of her. The ghouls saw the opportunity and undid the zip on his mask and went to bite her. Just as his teeth were mere centimetres away, he realised that he couldn't actually smell her.

But it was too late.

Chomp, smash, an almost immediate pain.

"AHH!" The ghoul yelled after recoiling, the inside of his mouth visibly cut up on jagged metal. "fffff-ARGH!" He looked upward and saw the 'girl' hold her now exposed metal shoulder as she worriedly checked the wiring in it.

It would make sense, kind of. The heaviness of her hits, his inability to move her. It didn't explain why it felt like he was hitting a regular person. Did her aura do that? Was a robot even capable of generating aura? Now that he though about it, Cinder mentioned the military working on artificial aura...

The ghoul made in animalistic growl as he zipped up his mask. The cuts in his mouth had healed but blood continued to run from his mouth and out of his mask.

Bullets whizzed passed the ghouls head. Turning towards the source revealed the Belladonna girl had fired the from her weapon. It also revealed that she had quite the black-eye.

The cat faunus fired several more rounds that Kaneki blocked with his rock kagune.

The same kagune that was quickly turning red.

Kaneki checked his forearm to find the dust patches almost completely drained, sans a few slithers of purple. It was also at this time that he heard sirens.

"I should leave." The ghoul's kagune retreated, as he ran to pull his hood over his head. Several more bullets were fired at him until he kicked the cat faunus' weapon away from. "Give my apologies to Miss Rose." And then he leapt from container to container, leaving the docks.

* * *

The first thing that came to Ruby's mind as she regained consciousness was 'Blake.'

The second was 'Oww!'

The red-head groaned as she rose off of the tarmac. Pretty weird as she remembered being on top of a container talking to someone before-

she looked next to her see a large rock covered in blood.

Oh right.

She half opened Crescent Rose to look at her own reflection. What she unfortunately found was lip bloodies, her cheek swollen and purple, and her eye bruised and bloodshot. She didn't dare touch it, the risk of pain was best avoided.

"Ruby!" She heard a familiar voice call. Turning to see Blake, her recently revealed cat faunus friend, who seemed to be in similar bad shape. Shining black eye, nose bent out of place; All marks that get left by a brutal beating. It really upset Ruby.

Her friend walked briskly toward her. "Hey Ruby." The ravenette said curtly.

"Hi Blake." Ruby responded, a slight lisp to her words. "Oh great." She muttered.

She looked around to see some police arriving. "Think we'll get in trouble?" She asked.

"We're registered Huntresses-in-training." Blake said. She began grimacing for some reason. "As far as they're concerned, we saved the day." She lifted the cloaked girl to her feet, who did the best frown she could under the circumstances.

"We didn't?" Ruby asked. The faunus just shrugged.

"We really didn't." Blake looked at the sky for a bit. "Not only did Torchwick and the White Fang escape with a lot of dust, but there's also some out there who doesn't have any aura whatsoever and can _still _beat us." Ruby looked up as well.

"So..." Ruby started, wondering what to say.

"So..." Blake parroted.

"...You're a faunus." Ruby got a nod for confirmation. "What kind?" It didn't seem like a rude question to ask.

"Cat." Blake simply stated, wiggling her bow. Then she smiled. "Thanks for not freaking out." She said.

Ruby did her own smile. Well, half-smile. "It's no big deal." Blake didn't look convinced.

"I don't think Weiss shares your sentiment." Blake motions her to some boxes, where they promptly take a seat.

"She came looking as well, y'know." Ruby offered. "She may a little rough around the edges but considering her...background, can she really be blamed for that?"

"No, you're right." Blake looked at her feet sadly. "It's just that..."

"We can talk about this later." The cloaked girl told her. "Currently, I think your friend could use some help." The ravenette turned to see Sun walking towards them, limping slightly with a grimace on his face.

"You alright?" She asked the blonde. He gave a pained nod and waved in dismissal.

"I'll be fine. I'm just kinda pissed at that guy." Blake nodded slowly before noticing other faunus' look.

"I'm fine." She confirmed. "My aura should heal me by tomorrow." Sun nodded before excusing himself. "See you later."

"Ruby! Blake! What happened!?" Yang was barrelling down towards them at Mach speed, followed closely by Weiss, both looking mortified.

Blake stood to confront Weiss. "Weiss, I-"

"Look, Blake." Weiss interrupted her. "I've had a lot of time to think about this, and I've decided I don't care." Blake's non-swollen eye widened.

"You-"

"I don't, Blake." Weiss insisted. "If we must, we'll take about it later. _After _you received medical attention." Blake was about to protest, But crumbled under Ruby and Yang's puppy eyes.

Ruby sighed contently. Sure they may have not saved the day, but they did get Blake back and Weiss seemed to be acting fine around her. So all in all, everything seemed fine. Then her eyes shot up in realisation.

"Where's Penny?"

* * *

"You can't be blamed for the events that occurred. You should however be able to handle them." Two men sat in the car with Penny, each studying the large 'wound' in her shoulder.

"I know." The automaton looked down at her feet. "I was unprepared and put too much strain on my aura."

"You shouldn't get too upset. If your opponent was able to push you to the edge of your limits in the way you described, there was little you could do." The man wearing a lab coat began tinkering with a small cubic device of sorts. "The date we'll extract will allow you to effectively deal with them should another battle between you occur. An experienced opponent is still not a high level threat to you." Penny's eyes hardened, not actually focused on anything

"It's more than that." She insisted. "He was strong. And definitely faster than me. It also feels like...that wasn't his best."

"You believe he was being easy on you?" The second man asked. He was noticeably larger than the other man, sporting the uniform of an Atlesian officer.

"No, but..." Penny struggled to find the correct words. "He bit me."

"Bit you?"

"Because he thought I was human." She said. "What kind of person bites other people?"

"The mad kind." The man in the lab coat said. "And if he did it in the middle of battle, a very dangerous one."

"I feel like being ready next time won't keep me intact." Penny said. "I need to be stronger, and faster." The man in the officer uniform look expectantly at the other man, who sighed exasperatedly.

"I'll see what I can do." He said finally. "For the mean time Penny, I recommend avoiding him at all cost."

"Alright." She returned to her dejected state, slumping slightly in her seat. "Next time..." She muttered.

"Next time I _will _be able to protect my friend."

* * *

**A/N: Things may or may not slow down, uploading wise. Many reasons as to why. I'm not going to dive into any of them.**

**Next chapter will bridge the gap between seasons 1 and 2, meaning something more like a regular sized chapter. It'll be good though, I promise.**

**Well, thank you for joining me. Hope to see you next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Tastes like coffee**

"I'm just assuming this is the first time you said that outside of your little group. I can respect you've probably put a lot of time into finding us. I can also respect that what you just said was in fact interesting." A short young man in sky blue jacket leaned forward in his side of the sofa, eyeing Cinder sceptically. "However, let me be the first person to say you are full of shit."

Four people sat in a small room. It housed a red sofa, a coffee table, and an armchair which the pyro currently sat on. The young man currently sat on the right-most side of the sofa, an aura of grouchiness surrounding him.

Cinder had been expecting something along those lines to be said. After all, what she had just offered him was something only the mad could come up with. Well, the mad and the informed.

"While I understand that my offer may be outlandish-"

"Understatement of the year." A ginger haired fox faunus muttered quietly, playing some form of game on her scroll. "Not only are you saying we'll become stronger and faster, you'll also saying that eating people will make us _more_ so." She chuckled softly into her oversized pink sweater. "Ridiculous, isn't it right Ra?"

On her left sat a huge man, covered by a pale green hood. The man nodded, apparently not in the mood to speak. What was visible of his face betrayed his stoicism as it showed the faintest traces of nervousness.

"You need to understand." The young man said. "We're cannibals. What we do is not exactly considered a great. In fact were anyone to find out what we do, we'd be executed." A deep scowl formed on his face. "The fact that you already knew that is problematic for us. Not only that, but then you show up at our hideout spouting bullshit about making us more powerful than _hunters_."

"If my information is correct, you already have basic hunter training." Cinder commented. "The surgery boosts natural ability. If you can learn to use that ability, I have no doubts that you can surpass even the greatest hunters." Unlike the three before her, Cinder knew that statement was only partly true. The ghoul she was already working with would have difficulty facing a great hunter, even if that was only because he avoided using his 'kakuja'. Considering what it did to him, it was for the probably for the best.

"There's no proof that this surgery of yours could actually make us stronger." The fox faunus said as she pocketed her scroll. "Unless you actually have something that can prove your legitimacy, I don't see why we should let you leave this room in one piece."

"A fair point." Cinder admitted before pulling out her own scroll and laying it on the table. The image of a white haired man in a mask appeared on the screen. "My proof." The pyro gestured to the scroll. The large man picked it up, studying the picture then opening up a bio on the other open tab. After a few brief moments he passed it to the faunus, who after reading through it also passed it along.

"You've done this already." The short man finally spoke. A grin formed on his face as he looked back up at Cinder. "You should have told us this before. This process could have been much smoother."

"I blame you." The faunus told him. The man grumbled something incoherent before addressing the pyro.

"So who is this guy anyway? The bio just calls him 'Eyepatch'."

"I like to keep as much personal information off of hardware as possible." Recently, Cinder had confirmed someone had been spying on her operations. She became slightly more cautious but any more so, and she'd be delaying her plans. "However, since this is person to person, and this information is essentially useless to you anyway, I suppose I can divulge his name for you, Mr. Verlede."

"His name is Kaneki Ken."

* * *

Business trips from Atlas are uncommon.

There are plenty of business trips _to _Atlas, sure. Generally though, reasons to leave the northern kingdom for work were few and _very_ far between. However any excuse to get out of the cold was welcomed by the bespectacled man in his suit.

The trip was coming to an end, and he wasn't sure how to spend his last afternoon in Vale. There had been a few options but none of them really appealed to him except for one.

He'd always wanted to try Vale's coffee.

It sounded strange, but considering the hours he worked, infatuation with caffeine was acceptable to say the least. He had heard the the kingdom offered a large variety of coffee, each tasting wildly different from the other. Since they only grew one type of coffee bean in Atlas, the idea of tasting new types of fresh coffee appealed greatly to the man.

Several hours passed with him moving from themed coffee shop to coffee shop. They we're all as good as the rumour said. He could help but feel envious of the people of Vale.

Then he found a coffee shop on a quiet street. Not a single car or truck passed through it as people of various ages walked and chatted. It was unlike other streets he had seen these past few days. The shop itself seemed deserted, apart from an unidentifiable figure standing behind what appeared to be a counter.

The man saw no reason not to enter.

Inside the shop held a simplistic set-up, unlike the ones he had visited earlier. Wooden tables and chairs, all looking moderately high priced. There were a few bar stools at the counter but that's the only differentiation from a regular coffee shop he had seen.

Behind the counter was a smiling young man with simple black hair and piercing blue eyes. The young man came out from behind the counter and bowed.

"Welcome to Shizukana Yume." The man said brightly. "Would you care for some coffee?"

The politeness of the young man startled him. The young ones who had served him in the other shops had been quite flippant. This man seemed quite humble. He wore a beige shirt, some neat black pants, a short tie and a rather small white apron with several pockets at his side. The only thing that truly strayed from uniform was a blue glowing bracelet at his side, but that was acceptable for someone as young as him.

The man suddenly realised the man was patiently waiting for an answer. "Uh, yes. I'll just have some coffee."

"Do you want anything with it like cream or sugar?" The man asked.

"No, black is fine." The bespectacled man said before looking for a place to sit. The entire shop was open to him, so he decide to take a seat near the window. He took off his glasses and tucked them into his breast pocket, seeing as how they were mostly for the sake of his clients.

Within a few minutes, the young man had brought his coffee over.

"I'm surprised there aren't any people in here." The businessman said as he looked out the window.

"It just opened today, so I'm not surprised." The young man said as he placed the coffee down on the table. "You're actually my first customer."

"Oh really? The businessman mused. His eyes widened as he processed what the young man had said. "Wait, _your_first customer?"

"Yes. I'm the manager and currently the only one working here." The young man said. The businessman was shocked. Someone so young could afford to open up a coffee shop?

"That's very impressive for someone your age. How old are you, exactly? Twenty three? Twenty two?"

"I'm twenty." The businessman stared in shock.

"_Very _impressive." He said, picking up his cup and taking a small sip.

It was the best sip he ever had.

Quickly gulping the rest down in as polite a manner as he could, he marvelled at the now empty cup. The other places had been good, but this? This was on a whole new level.

"Absolutely incredible." The businessman said. "What beans do you use exactly?"

"Atlesian." His eyes went wide again.

"I don't think so." He exhaled out. "I come from Atlas. And I always have my coffee fresh. I would have known if the coffee it made could be this good."

"Well the beans are only part of making the coffee." The young man countered. "Brewing time and technique are also important. So are the equipment you use. And then there's your own personal experience with making coffee."

The businessman stared into the cup in his hands as he processed what the young man said. "Do you want another cup, sir?" The businessman blinked out of his trance.

"Uh, yes. Yes I would." He handed his cup and saucer to the manager, who turned and left to brew some more coffee. "I'm Seryy, by the way. Seryy Derevo." The young man smiled back at him.

"Ritoru Joku."

* * *

Seryy sighed contently as he left. He had no doubt that the young man Ritoru's shop would thrive. Giving one final wave as the sun began to set, he promised to visit on his next business trip to Vale. The young man bowed and said he looked forward to his visit.

The the businessman out of sight, Ritoru let out his own relieved sigh, walking to the outside window shutters and closing them. As he re-entered the shop, he pondered over the events of the day. Yume had it's first customer that day, and that was something to celebrate. When he got some other staff, he could think of getting a few posters printed and advertised. He smiled to himself as he pulled a small box out on of his apron pockets. Using a free hand, he removed the blue contacts from his eyes, revealing their natural gray color.

His smile quickly turned into a smirk.

* * *

_"So what exactly does 'Shizukana Yume' mean?" The businessman had asked as the manager brought him a sandwich. The manager smiled politely at him._

_"It means 'Quiet Dream'."_

* * *

**Arc Two**

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, OCs.**

**Not really my thing, mostly either because they're a hit, or they're a really bad miss. At least from what I've seen.**

**I hope these are a hit, though.**

**Also:**

** Are you fucking ready?!**

**We'll find out next time I guess. Thanks for stopping by.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So I disappeared there for a while there. I'm sorry about that, internet problems and some other stuff I won't bore you with. I'll try and make sure it doesn't happen more.**

**On a higher note: over 100 favourites. Damn you people like this, and I personally can't see why. But thank you nonetheless.**

**Oh, last thing, I have a big announcement at the end. So stick around for a bit. Anyway, let's get on with it.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Tastes like rot**

Settling into Vale hadn't been necessarily hard for Kaneki. Cinder's work had travelled here, and subsequently so did the ghouls. Vale hadn't seemed like a bad place to set up Shizukana Yume, or just 'Yume' as the customers came to call it, but it had already been _filled_ with good coffee shops. Even if he could produce coffee _near_ the level of Yoshimura, he doubted his shop would get much attention.

So the fact that all the seats in his little shop had been filled was a pleasant surprise.

And absolutely terrifying.

It had been like this for the past couple days now, about two weeks since his first customer. The day after a young couple had come in, looking for a place to have a quite first date. They had recommended to their friends, which led to seven people frequenting the place. Then several firm executives came in on the fifth day of Yume's existence. They now came in every so often. Soon, more and more people just showed up looking for coffee, and 'Ritoru' found himself swamped.

Twenty customers and only a single member of staff. He was missing Anteiku more and more.

Luckily, closing time was coming up soon. Had it not been for that he would have given up ages ago.

As people began to leave, saying their goodbyes and offering their thanks for the coffee, it dawned on him that he was supposed to meet the 'candidates' for the ghoul operation. If he remembered correctly some fruit shops were still open at this time. He had also been saving a little something special in a cupboard.

It was time to see if the 'candidates' could actually handle the operation's consequences.

* * *

Oasis was not considered an especially patient person. Even back in Vacuo, what many had called 'the most violent of the kingdoms', people would bitch about his inability to wait.

Those people didn't tend to realise how patient he _could_ be if he getting a decent meal out of it. Though in all fairness, they didn't learn what constituted 'a decent meal' until the last minute.

The fact that he lacked patience for most things was true however, he understood that. It was a flaw that had developed back when he was nothing more than a little kid, and he was never really able to overcome it. However, he could handle waiting for things to occur at specified times.

He _wasn't_ patient when it came to people who were _quite_ noticeably late.

"Where the fuck is this guy?" The young man muttered irritably while flicking though various apps his scroll. "He should've been here fifteen minutes ago." He opened the contacts list and pressed the call button on a name. Maybe that Fall chick could explain what was up with the hold up.

Lily was one of the people who didn't appreciate Oasis' impatience. Unlike most of the other however, he actually cared for her considerably. They had known each other since they were five. They played together, fought together. Sure she was a bit grouchy most of the time, but she made up for it by being very agile, and _very_ violent when she needed. Besides, they both ate at the same table, it's only right that they'd be comfortable enough with their flaws around eachother.

"Seriously dude, you got to chill." She herself was playing some shooter on their recently 'acquired' console. And considering she picked it up yesterday, she was quite good at game. Or at least, that was the opposite of what the prepubescents online had been yelling. "Getting angry at things out of your control is kind of pathetic." She muttered.

Oasis extended a middle finger. They were good friends, they could afford to be dicks to each other. "Real mature." She returned a finger of her own, the effect of which undercut rather heavily when it was covered by her oversized pink sweater sleeve. Long strands of carrot-colored hair fell over her face, which were quickly blown away.

Ra was also a friend. Not as close as Lily, super shy around new people, generally antisocial, and very easily frightened. Quite contrasting to his build. But when it was necessary, Oasis knew from first hand experience he was completely able to depend on the big guy. He was also very happy with his cooking skills.

Over the years, Ra had become comfortable enough around them to be his true self in their presence: A unapologetic prick. "Hey if you two could bicker somewhere else, that would _really_ help." He was sitting at a wooden desk tapping away furiously at a keyboard. He scoffed at what he saw on the screen "This is fucking dumb. I can't find that weapon part anywhere."

"We're all quite aware you could make the whatever part your looking for." Oasis comments, putting away his scroll after getting no response from Fall.

"But that's the point." Ra counters. "I could, but that fucker doesn't deserve a high quality weapon. If someone says 'no' to joining your terrorist organization, you don't threaten them when you think their friends are out of earshot."

"Such a nice looking guy too." Lily lamented. "Shame he had to be such an ass. I wonder if he'll refuse to sell me a book next time I'm in his shop." A distinctly loud prepubescent called her a fucking try-hard hacker. And then threatened to rape her 'bitch mom'. "No need to be cheap for my sake Ra. Be cheap for the sake of being cheap,"

The weapon smith chuckled, and began tapping away at the keyboard again and fiddling with his lime-green hair.

"Sounds fair, Lily." He grinned broadly.

Oasis was just about try and call Fall again when doorbell rang. "Finally!" The young man exclaimed, walking briskly to the door.

Opening it, he found a creepy look dude in a creepy mask leaning on the left adjacent concrete wall. His attire was heavily covered by a black hoodie, leaving only grey, latex pants and shoes visible. In his right hand he clutched a blue, plastic bag with a few unknown, round objects in it. While his left held a black bag with only one of whatever these objects we're. Whatever was in it, it smelt awful.

He faced the opposite wall, hiding the rest of his masked face. And he stayed there, making no movement to actually greet the noticeably smaller of the two. "So..." Oasis started. "You're Kaneki, huh?"

"Hmm?" The masked man apparently had been in a daze. Turning his head to face Oasis revealed an uncovered grey eye. Not a silver one like Lily, but a dull, grey one. He stayed quiet for a brief, looking the younger man over. "Yeah, that would be me. Mister Verlede, was it?" A slow nod came from the shorter man.

"Care to explain the mask?" Oasis was quickly becoming irritated. The guy's bored tone and attitude grated on him, when it shouldn't have been able to considering what he put up with when it Lily and Ra almost all time. The possibility of this guy being _worse _than those two was not comforting..

The 'ghoul' got off the wall. "A necessary precaution, in case you all decide to opt out of the operation." He turned fully to face the short man. "It wouldn't help _me_ in any way if someone ran to the police station and gave them a description of a human-eating monster in man's clothing."

"Point taken." It made sense, Oasis could admit that. It still bugged him regardless. "So you coming in or what?"

"You're the one in the doorway." The smaller one sighed irritably, before stepping back into the flat and gesturing for the masked man to follow. Once in, they walked into the living room. Both occupants have dropped their previous activities to stare, the fox girl in the pink sweater appeared to shiver at the sight of him, while the big one had a look of reserved caution.

Oasis gestured to them offhandedly, not noticing the changes in their demeanour. "Well, this is the gang. And they appear ready to leave, so let's go."

"Actually, I have a few things for you all." The masked man pulled from the blue bag in his hand three green apples. He threw one at each of them, all of which were easy to catch.

The fox faunus was the first to take a bite. A large chunk of the apple in her hand disappeared. She spent some time munching.

"well it isn't poisoned." She said. "But otherwise, it tastes like a regular apple. Maybe a little acidic." The other two took a smaller bite. She was right, nothing special at all.

"So what's the point of this?" Oasis asked. As he opened his mouth to take another, larger bite, 'Kaneki' pulled another apple from the black bag. Unlike the others this one was rotting, brown with various large grey spots all across it.. The blue-jacketed man found out exactly how rotten it was first-hand.

Just as he was biting down.

He immediately spit the offending fruit out as the disgusting taste spread throughout his mouth. He fell to his knees and resisted the urge to throw up on the floor.

A kitchen knife sprung from the fox faunus' oversized sleeve into her hand. With lightning quick speed she stabbed the blade through the masked man's exposed neck.

Or she would have, had the knife not broken on his skin.

The ghoul turned his head toward her, the shivering she felt before intensifying.

"I'm going to guess that your blade just there wasn't aura enhanced." He said dully. "You're friend will be fine. But I needed to make a point."

"What exactly would that point be?" She asked coldly, anger bubbling and threatening to destroy whatever composure she had left. "Because as far as I'm concerned, you just shoved something toxic into my friend's mouth because you fucking felt like it!" The masked man snatched her apple before she even reacted. She held up both the rotten one and her own.

"If you do decide to have the surgery, it won't matter what kind of apple you eat." He said, flinging her apple into a nearby trash can. "They'll all taste like this." He brought the rotten apple up, a huge bite in it. "Fresh food will taste rotten, anything but water will be undrinkable. Nothing, absolutely nothing will be edible for you." He quickly flung the rotten fruit into the trash as well. "With the exception of raw human flesh."

Everything went silent. The catch had finally revealed itself, and it suddenly gave a lot of reasons not to go through with the operation.

"...You're full of shit."

The masked man turned back to the rising blue-jacketed man, who was in all honestly, no more than a teenager. Eighteen at most. "You're fucking scared of not being the only one, and you're trying to push us away." His grimace turned into a sadistic grin. "When the operation's done. I'm going to eat an apple right in front of you, and I'm going to enjoy it."

The bored look on the masked man's face never changed. "That Fall chick said the operation's supposed to enhance natural ability. That it'll make us stronger than we are now. She also told us you used to be a civilian." Still, no change. "So after I finish that apple, I'm going to kick your ass, and make you my bitch."

"You're welcome to try." The ghoul said, pulling out a scroll with what looked like a contract on it. "If you're agreeing to the operation, and to it's consequences, you will work for Cinder Fall. If you refuse to cooperate after the operation," The masked man's eye became black. "I _will _kill you." Oasis stared at the contract. Was it really worth the risk? If what this guy was saying is true, is it worth working for someone else. Then he realised that he wasn't in any danger. If he _did _become as powerful as they said he would, he could take this fucker on no problem.

"Fine." He said, pressing a finger onto a scroll and sealing the deal. The masked man extended the scroll to Lily and Ra, who both did the same after varying levels of hesitance.

"I hope you don't regret your decision." The masked man- no, Ken said with a shrug. "Contrary to what you may believe, I don't dislike you. I'm just trying to help."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Oasis muttered.

"No, you'll believe it when you taste it."

* * *

**A/N: And so the chapter comes to a close. These new three are more for practising character development on my part. The aim isn't to get you to like them now. I'm hoping that by the end of the story you'll consider decent at the least.**

**Now, the announcement.**

_**I'm doing a Bloodborne crossover for RWBY next Thursday!**_

**Here's How it works: I going to upload it every other week instead of this. This means you're getting this fic twice a month instead of weekly. While this does mean updates will be slower, It also allows me to write more for both stories. Meaning you get even more fic every update. I feel like this is the best way of doing things. For those interested, check it out next Thursday.**

**Get ready for Qrow Hunter Badge. Oh and yes that's a cheesy name.**

**Hopefully you'll check it out. Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

"We're here." Kaneki said into his scroll. He heard two voices mutter behind him. Something about walking, he didn't really care.

"Good." Emerald was on the line. Apparently Cinder was occupied with some surgeons. "Leave them at room 4C and then go to room 4F." Kaneki beckoned the cannibals to follow him into the building. "Are you sure about this?" The girl on the other end of the line asked worriedly. "I know you've got over-the-top regeneration but still-"

"I can handle it." The ghoul stated calmly. "I've gone through worse."

"What can be worse than having one of your organs being taken out _while still being __conscious__?_"

"You don't want to know." Kaneki told her. He felt several eyes stare into the back of his head. "You really don't." After that unceremonious end to the call, the fox faunus spoke up.

"There's something you're not telling us." He could hear the wobble in her voice, even if the other two couldn't. Kaneki considered just keeping silent as they took the elevator up to the forth floor. However, it would probably be easier on Cinder if he told them the truth.

Some of the truth anyway.

"I'm going to drop you off in a room. Someone will come see you and prepare you for the operation." True. "I will head to different room, and get prepared myself." Also true.

"Why do _you_ need to be prepared?" The shorter one, Oasis seemed even more suspicious than his friend.

"You're receiving _my_ organs." Again, true. The large man's head shot up slightly, eyes wide. He hadn't said a single word since the ghoul had entered his presence. He seemed docile though, despite his size and possibly his strength. Maybe he'd fit in with the ghoul's own plans. "Well, parts of them anyway. They'll be merged with your own, and that is how you'll become ghouls."

"Wait a sec." Oasis cut in again. "If we need your organs in order to become ghouls, how exactly did _you _become one? That Fall chick said you were the first."

"I'm the first _successful_ one." True, his operation had been successful, but it had also been the first. The first his world anyway. "I'm actually the second. The original ghoul was unstable from what I understand." A lie.

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. They didn't tell me much." A lie. Quite the opposite in fact. The only one who knew about him being actually 'made' was Cinder. Neither Torchwick, Mercury, or even Emerald knew. The only reason the three cannibals behind him thought he had gone under an operation was because it made convincing them easier. "All I know is that it was supposedly messy."

"Alright, here we are." He and the cannibals now stood in front of a basic wooden door. A plastic plaque next to it reading '4C'. "You'll be waiting in here for a bit. I recommend you prepare yourselves."

"Is this going to be painful?" The faunus girl asked.

"No. You'll be sedated. When it's over you'll wake up with a headache. And you'll probably be hungry."

"That apple's sounding more and more appealing as time goes on." Oasis snarked. Kaneki, to his credit, managed to hide any traces of irritation on his face.

"I'll be seeing you later." Kaneki advanced further down the hallway. Hear a door open and shut behind him, he removed his mask. A bit of searching and he managed to locate his scroll.

"Yes." Emerald answered rather quickly.

"I'm just outside room 4F. The surgeons wanted some of my small intestine, correct?"

"Correct." The thief's tone became a lot more sombre. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"If there's some food in the room, then I'll be fine."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Emi, I've been through worse. I can handle this." Kaneki's own voice was as calm as he could make it.

"What did I say about calling me that?" A half-hearted mutter came from the scroll.

"Look, everything is going to go fine." He said warmly. "I'm not going to die here. Neither will I die any time soon. So trust me here."

"...Fine." Was the answer he finally got. "I'm expecting you to call back."

"Once I've regenerated, yes I'll call back. See you in a bit." He ended the call, pushing the door in front of him open.

The room was almost completely barren, with the exception of a table, what looked like a metallic box, a plate with a slab of raw meat on it and a metal chair right in the centre. The floor itself was bare and polished to avoid any staining. A good thing, considering it was about to get incredibly messy.

The ghoul sat in chair, allowing his eyes to investigate the room. The next few minutes were going to be extremely painful. And while he _had_ been through worse, he wasn't very enthusiastic to disembowel himself.

Then he thought about who he was doing this for. It wasn't for science, it wasn't for the cannibals. He wasn't even sure if he was doing this for Cinder at this point. But he knew he was doing this for Emerald. Emerald and Mercury. They saw something in their mentor. So much so that would gladly murder anyone if she told them to. They had a lot of faith in her, and the ghoul didn't know why. However, he did say he was going to support them. And when he thought about it, the fact that he had gone through worse for friends before meant something.

It's better to be hurt yourself than it is to hurt others.

He supposed that applied here, more than it ever had before in this world.

A deep inhale.

A red tail.

A lot of pain.

As he carefully placed the long organ in the metallic cooler, he sealed the lid as quickly as he could and began devouring the meat next to it.

Falling back into the chair, what was left of his butchered inside began to regenerate at unbelievable rates. He'd have fully healed within the next few minutes.

As the minutes passed, he watched as pool of blood around him spread further and further across the floor. The pain was slowly dissipating, and the organs were all but completely healed, but he was still in an unbelievable amount of pain. He hoped he wouldn't have to do that again. Ever.

He also hoped it was worth it. He wasn't even sure whether or not the operation would be successful. What if the cannibals became unstable themselves? What then? Do they look for more cannibals? Do they make due with what they have? He didn't know.

He guessed he'd have to find out later.

Ra stood at the top of a small, grassy hill. Miles upon miles of flat grassland could be seen in any direction. It seemed to go on forever. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun shone as bright as it would in Vacuo.

How did he get here, though?

He didn't know, honestly. He remembered several men and women walking into the room he was in, taking him and his friends to different operating tables. Being jabbed with a needle...and then he found himself here.

He stood there, examining the empty world around him. He didn't feel much. Not even bored. He did however, find himself growing tired. Faster and faster, the urge to sleep became more and more inevitable.

Just as he sat down, he saw a figure at the bottom of the hill.

A man in a mask.

_The_ man in the mask.

Kaneki Ken.

He reached up to the back of his head, undoing his mask. Around him, several small flowers began to grow.

The mask finally came off. All the features were indiscernible. All with the exception of one.

A smile. A small, genuine smile.

Ra had woken up about ten minutes ago, refusing to open his eyes and let his other senses survey the situation. The first thing he heard upon waking was several monotonous, repetitive beeps. Definitely the kind of beep you heard from heart monitor. There must have been three of them. The second was the sound of breathing. Two different people on either side of him. He was all but sure they were his friends. They had gone under the same operation, after all.

The operation. Right. He almost forgot. _How_ he almost forgot eluded him. It seemed like something you would remember, considering what it was supposed to do. Thinking about it brought up a lot of questions. 'What the fuck does being a ghoul actually mean?' being the most prominent of which. Did it mean he was stronger? Maybe. Did it mean he was on top of the food chain? He didn't know. Did it mean that he was now a monster?

That was something he decided was true the moment he learned what ghouls did to survive. However, being a monster didn't mean much. What mattered was if he was okay with being one.

He hadn't decided. He knew too little to tell himself this change was wrong or right.

He supposed the answer would reveal itself with time.

With a slight delay, he managed to sit up in the bed he was in, a silent yawn escaping him. He took a deep breath in.

And he _smelt_ the people around him.

The smell gave him pause. He knew it was the people next to him he could smell. It wasn't an awful smell though. It was just...unique. Not bad, not especially good, it was just 'there'. Another sniff, and Ra found he could differentiate where the smells came from. To his left, to his right-

In front of him.

There was definitely someone in front of him.

After a few hesitant seconds, the large man saw him. The man in the mask. He sat in a chair, tapping on an armrest to the beat of one of the heart monitors. Ra almost didn't pick up the slight increase in tempo to the man's impromptu drumming.

"Hello." Kaneki said. No hint of excitement, boredom, interest, resentment or anything could be heard in his voice. There was only the acknowledgement.

"...Hi." Ra's own voice was raspy. Partly due to him being cautious, mostly due to his throat feeling drier than a backwater town in Vacuo.

"You're awake." The first ghoul noted. "That makes two of you." A low grumble came from the left of Ra. A familiar grumble.

"Well aren't we perceptive?" Oasis rose slowly, rubbing the sleep his eyes. "Where can I get some water? And some food, now that I think about it. I'm fucking starving."

"You're not." Kaneki told him. "When you actually starve, you'll know. And so will everyone else in the general vicinity." He got off his chair, walking toward a nearby door. "I'll go get some water."

"And an apple." Oasis' comment may have gotten a reaction from him. It was unlikely though.

"And so the mighty Team KORL is formed." Emerald's smile, while genuine, did nothing to hide the smirk in her voice.

"Really? KORL?" Talking face-to-face with a friend felt good. Kaneki had been forced to talk to a group of people he didn't care for, and it only now dawned on him how much they truly annoyed him.

"Mercury came up with it." Emerald admitted. "He came up with CRME as well."

"I'm not surprised."

"...I'm glad you're alright."

"If I'm going to die, it'll be of old age. Now I have to go and pick up some water. You coming?"

"Of course."

**A/N: **

**I'm really sorry about how long this took to come out. Vacations happened, internet problems happened, a lot of stuff.**

**That's over now, though. Next time, you'll get fair warning before I, and subsequently whatever stories I'm writing, go on hiatus.**

**Oh and for those of you that are confused, KORL (I'm pronouncing that as coral by the way) is in fact comprised of Kaneki and the cannibal-no, comprised of Kaneki and the _new ghouls. _The operation's done. Good thing too, because now that the team's in place, action can finally start to happen.**

**Anyway. I'd like to thank you all again. I never expected to receive so many follows on this. Crossovers don't tend to be popular, eventually getting dropped by either the reader or the author. I'm glad you guys enjoy this. It's you that inspires me to write more than anything else.**

**Things are going to slow down, though. More than originally intended. This is because I'm focusing on my other crossover, Qrow Hunter Badge. That's going to receive most of my attention, but only until it's caught up chapter-wise with this story.**

**Thanks for coming around. Until next time. **


	11. A very short announcement

Okay, so item number 1: Sorry, but this isn't another chapter. I _am _writing it, but currently I've been swamped with various exams So yeah, it's going to be more than a couple weeks until I can post something new.

So basically yes, this story is going into hiatus. Bear with me, it'll only last so long.

Anyway, now for item number 2: I've decided I'm going to get a beta.

This has been a hard decision for me. No particular reason why, but it has been. Now though, I feel like having some help will be beneficial to the story. And if it's beneficial, it's worth a shot. Really the only problem is going to be finding one I like.

Sorry if I've disappointed you, hopefully the chapters look better and better from here on out,


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